When to seek medical care

Seek medical care if you suspect that you have an infection and you have experienced:

• An animal or a human bite
• Difficulty breathing
• A cough lasting longer than a week
• Periods of rapid heartbeat
• A rash, especially if it's accompanied by a fever
• Swelling
• Blurred vision or other difficulty seeing
• Persistent vomiting
• An unusual or severe headache

Your doctor can perform diagnostic tests to find out if you're infected, the seriousness of the infection and how best to treat that infection.